The CEO of a Chinese hedge fund looking for investment opportunities in Northeast Florida has an idea that could help revitalize Downtown Jacksonville: Creating a Chinatown in the urban core.

Paul Porter, a sales associate with Watson Commercial Realty Inc., shared the story of a Chinese businessman’s interest in the region at a luncheon Thursday hosted by GrayRobinson PA that focused on Downtown Jacksonville.

Porter declined to identify the CEO or his hedge fund, but said the man had been granted U.S. citizenship and is moving to the Orange Park area to be closer to his grandchildren. Porter said he learned of the man’s story through a residential real estate agent at Watson, who’d been assisting the man in finding a house.

Porter said Michelle Barth, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Alvin Brown, gave him her business card and asked him to connect the investor with the city.

The timing could be right for it, with Chinese investment in the U.S. rising, from a total of $3 billion in all of 2011 to $8 billion already in 2012, according to BusinessWeek, which cites the Heritage Foundation’s China Global Investment Tracker.